Friday Gratitude and My First Chakra Smoothie Bowl Recipe for the Heart

My days, especially my mornings, are made up of practices. Coffee beans are ground and put on to perk as I hum and chant my way through Sanskrit mantras; I meditate; sometimes I pull an oracle card or two; and I rotate the crystals that are scattered around my work area. Throughout the day, I sneak in some yoga, more mantras, and some mindful pauses for journaling. My practices sustain me, align me, return me to a carefully nourished center as often I as I need.

The other practice that weaves throughout my days is my gratitude practice. I chant gratitude in the morning, shout and fist pump the good things during the day, and journal it before bed each night. Why do I call gratitude a practice? Because we are all human and we react to multitudes of things in our day – we react with anger, concern, anxiety, joy, positivity, and negativity. Because there is a temptation always to run to the dark corners and stay mired in the blah of depressive and negative thought patterns.

A gratitude practice keeps us in the present moment and brings our focus to the positives of each day, even when we do not feel particularly grateful. A gratitude practice keeps our hearts open to receive the good in life and when we make it a practice, we respond more openly to challenges and obstacles.

“Gratitude begins in our hearts and then dovetails into behavior. It almost always makes you willing to be of service, which is where the joy resides. It means that you are willing to stop being such a jerk. When you are aware of all that has been given to you, in your lifetime and the past few days, it is hard not to be humbled, and pleased to give back.” ~ Anne Lamott, Help Thanks Wow: The Three Essential Prayers

How can we combine our food and our practices?How may we nourish all parts of ourselves, mind, body, and spirit?How may we give gratitude each day for the nourishment that we receive and for the food that is available to us? I think smoothie bowls are at least part of the answer. Eating in the morning is NOT something that I am practiced at, but with a tantalizing smoothie bowl, I am reconsidering that stance and I love the idea of incorporating this live food component into my daily practice.

Live food, spinach, strawberries, ripe bananas, more spinach, a few frozen raspberries, and some almond milk blended to a kickass, NEW morning practice concoction. Smoothies. In a bowl. So there are toppings. Like a smoothie sundae!

I call this one the Heart Chakra Smoothie bowl – our heart chakras are our energetic love centers, but also impact our emotional and physical heart health. The color of the heart chakra is a gorgeous emerald green (like spinach!) and also varying shades of pink to represent the higher octaves of love. What better combination for a heart chakra-centered smoothie bowl than spinach and strawberries? Spinach, strawberries, and walnuts are all TOP heart health foods and contain nutrients and vitamins that make our hearts happy.

The Sanskrit word chakra means “wheel” and there are seven major chakras, plus more minor chakras such as in the hands and feet. These chakras, wheels, are in constant motion when they are happy and healthy. As they spin, they generate vortexes of energy that work with our mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual bodies. Read a quick overview of the chakras here

There was no additional sweetener required for this smoothie bowl – the ripened banana and the strawberries brought all the sweet that I needed. Honey, agave, or maple syrup are all good options to add a bit more sweet if you need it. It is also worth noting that I did this in my little Cuisinart chopper for two reasons. One, I don’t have a high-powered juicing kind of blender (yet) and two, my perfectly serviceable blender was missing a key component, like the stabilizer ring. The Cuisinart did fine although it may not be as smoooooooth as some people would like. Me? I like a bit of texture.

Go crazy with the toppings and the ingredients! The possibilities are endless … granola, seeds, fruit, microgreens, nuts, yogurt, veggies, all of your favorite things. The smoothie bowls are a bit more satisfying than sucking down a smoothie simply for the chewing factor. Use what is in your fridge and cupboards to make one for your morning.

Are you ready to sync with your heart? Bring love and gratitude to the forefront of your mind, your practices, your day? Let’s do this!

I am ever so grateful for all of YOU. I am grateful for smoothie bowls and morning nourishment. I am grateful for live food that my heart craves. Happy heart chakra eating!

Ingredients (makes enough for 1 smoothie bowl so double to share):

2 – 3 handfuls of fresh spinach

1 ripe banana – 3/4 for blending and the rest for topping

4 large strawberries – 1 for topping

1/2 cup of frozen raspberries or strawberries

1/2 cup of almond milk (or whatever milk you prefer)

1/4 cup of hemp seeds (I used them in the blend for this smoothie bowl)